Hope for thousands of men battling prostate cancer as scientists discover ‘practice changing’ drug combination that slashes risk of disease returning by 60%
- 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK every year
- Experts say the findings could represent a ‘practice change’ for men and increase survival
A combination of drugs could ‘transform’ the treatment of aggressive prostate cancer after studies showed it reduces the risk of recurrence by 60 per cent more than standard treatments.
Patients with an aggressive form of the disease who received enzalutamide in addition to standard hormone treatment reduced their risk of death by 58 percent.
Experts said the findings for men could ‘change practice’, both increasing survival rates and improving quality of life.
About a third of men who undergo surgery or radiation for prostate cancer will see the prostate cancer return, often aggressively.
They are usually treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), or hormone therapy, which reduces the production of the male sex hormone testosterone.
Enzalutamide (pronounced en-zal-loo-tah-my-de) is also known by the brand name Xtandi (pronounced ex-tan-dee), pictured, could increase survival rates, experts say
Testosterone helps prostate cancer cells grow and spread, and hormone therapy effectively reduces the growth-stimulating effects.
But ADT doesn’t completely eliminate testosterone, which means the cancer can still grow and can also have side effects, including erection problems and loss of libido.
In this study of 1,068 prostate cancer patients from 17 countries, researchers wanted to test whether enzalutamide could improve survival by slowing the spread.
A third of the men were given only enzalutamide, which works by preventing testosterone from stimulating the growth of cancer cells.
Another group received the daily tablet in addition to ADT and the remaining men received ADT alone, which is the current standard treatment.
Research has shown that men treated with enzalutamide alone were 37 percent less likely to die after five years than men who received ADT alone.
But this rose to 58 percent when enzalutamide was combined with ADT, according to findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, LA, said: ‘In the study, both new options improved metastasis-free survival while maintaining quality of life.
“If these treatments are approved… our results will be practice-changing.”
Prostate cancer is most common among men, with 52,000 people diagnosed with the disease in the UK every year.
The Mail has been campaigning for decades to improve prognosis and treatments to bring the disease on a par with breast cancer.
Until now, Pfizer’s drug has been used for other forms of prostate cancer, but there was no effective treatment for this particular aggressive type.
Amy Rylance, head of care improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said: ‘This research is exciting because it shows that adding enzalutamide to standard treatment for these men more than halves the risk of their disease spreading or causing their death.
‘For men with aggressive prostate cancer, time is of the essence, so we hope that men in the UK can access this new treatment combination as soon as possible.’
Oliver Kemp, CEO of Prostate Cancer Research, said: ‘Far too many men suffer from recurring prostate cancer and existing treatments can cause serious side effects.
‘Therefore, the results of this trial are really encouraging and could open up new possibilities for patients.
‘Improving the available treatments is crucial, but so is early diagnosis. That’s why we encourage men who are concerned to talk to their doctor and get checked out.”